EverQuest Next Landmark - PChttp://www.gameinformer.com/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/atom.aspxCommunity Server2013-08-21T13:20:00ZEverQuest Next Landmark Moves Into Closed Beta/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2014/03/26/everquest-next-landmark-moves-into-closed-beta.aspx2014-03-27T00:39:24Z2014-03-27T00:39:24Z<div class="paginated-post" rel="2"><div class="paginated-post-page" rel="1"><p><img src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/screenshots/EQNextLandmark/nextlmbeta_610.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p>Today, Sony Online Entertainment announced that EverQuest Next Landmark is moving out of alpha and into closed beta.</p>
<p>EverQuest Next Landmark takes a drastic step away from traditional MMO gameplay elements, many that were at least in part established by the original EverQuest, and moves closer to something with the creativity aspects of Minecraft.</p>
<p>If you&#39;re interested in trying the game out, you can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.landmarkthegame.com/home">apply to take part in the beta here</a>. For our most recent preview on the game, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gameinformer.com/themes/blogs/generic/post.aspx?WeblogApp=pc&amp;y=2014&amp;m=02&amp;d=03&amp;WeblogPostName=everquest-next-landmark-alpha-highlights-potential&amp;GroupKeys=games/everquest_next_landmark/">head here</a>.</p>
<p>To see some of the creations resulting from the game&#39;s alpha, check out the gallery below. For the full press release on the announcement, head to page two.</p>
<p></p></div></div><script type="text/javascript">PaginateGrid();</script><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6707884" width="1" height="1">GIKylehttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/GIKyle/default.aspxEverQuest Next Landmark Alpha Highlights Potential/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2014/02/03/everquest-next-landmark-alpha-highlights-potential.aspx2014-02-04T00:12:00Z2014-02-04T00:12:00Z<p><img style="max-width:610px;" border="0" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/screenshots/EQNextLandmark/Eqnxtalpha610.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The alpha for EverQuest Next Landmark has arrived, and the
NDA shields are down. The Minecrafty MMORPG that serves as a staging ground for
some of the features coming later to EverQuest Next is rough around the edges
at this stage, offering just a handful of a long list of features that will
roll out over time. However, even in this early stage with all the server
issues, broken code strings seeping into item descriptions, crashes, and long
queue times, the potential for this title shines through.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was only a matter of time before a big
developer/publisher decided to take some of the concepts of titles like
Minecraft, Terraria, and Starbound and move them in a MMO direction. EverQuest
Next Landmark features all the building and crafting that players could want,
allowing them to claim territory and work on it with friends to craft castles, spaceships,
Wild West museums, etc. The game also features item progression in the form of
mining tools, axes, craft tables, and pulverizers that allow you to quickly
burrow down into the earth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Only a few biomes are available at the moment, but it&rsquo;s
enough to get a sense of the scope of the project. The game should get more
interesting when the monsters show up. EverQuest Next Landmark plans to have a
variety of enemies to battle that drop resources that the more
fighting-oriented players can trade off to their crafty/buildy friends. The
range of skills and abilities with which to do battle is limited compared to
EverQuest Next, but Sony Online Entertainment is promising a decent assortment
of ranged, magical, and melee attacks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In about an hour of playtime, I mined several different
types of ore, chopped down some trees, and placed a claim on the far edge of
one of the available Tier 1 areas. I have some low tier crafting tables set up,
and I&rsquo;m looking forward to digging in more once servers get a bit more stable.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While I think the concept is poised to survive and thrive as
its own game alongside EverQuest Next, there&rsquo;s much talk about how high-profile
builders and building teams could create massive projects that find their way
into the main MMORPG. Organized teams (guilds?) of builders or a solo savant
with a mission could create massive, sprawling dungeons, epic castles, and
other items that could make it into EverQuest Next itself, as long as they meet
Norrathian design rules.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I&rsquo;m surprised Sony let this alpha out into the wild in the
current state, but this is probably one of the best ways to get the feedback it
needs to get things rolling toward beta and beyond.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6558772" width="1" height="1">GIDanielhttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/GIDaniel/default.aspxNew EverQuest Next Landmark Developer Diary Shows Off Ease Of Creation/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2014/01/12/new-everquest-next-landmark-developer-diary-shows-off-ease-of-creation.aspx2014-01-12T17:41:17Z2014-01-12T17:41:17Z<p><img src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/sonyonlineentertainment/everquest/next/landmark/eqnextbuilding_610.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p>The standalone Landmark creation tool allows players to build anything they want in the world of EverQuest Next, and the latest developer diary shows off how it easy it is to use.</p>
<p>You can check out the video below starring lead building and UI designer Jake Sones and associate producer Eric Smith as they show off some the game&#39;s building mechanics, and some of the new changes that have been implemented in the system.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2013/08/21/sony-online-entertainment-shows-off-terraforming.aspx">isn&#39;t the first time we&#39;ve seen the creation tools in action</a>, but this is the most up to date version of the engine. Sones and Smith says there will likely be changes to the final version of the game, but this video shows something pretty close to final.</p>
<p>For more on EverQuest Next Landmark, <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2013/11/11/after-an-hour-in-the-sandbox-we-re-sold-on-the-potential-of-everquest-next-landmark.aspx">you can check out some of our hands-on time with the creation tool</a>.</p>
<p>(Please visit the site to view this media)</p>
<p><i>[Via: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/12/5299450/everquest-next-landmark-dev-diary-details-advanced-building">Polygon</a>]</i></p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6511107" width="1" height="1">GIKylehttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/GIKyle/default.aspxAfter An Hour In The Sandbox, We're Sold On The Potential Of EverQuest Next Landmark/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2013/11/11/after-an-hour-in-the-sandbox-we-re-sold-on-the-potential-of-everquest-next-landmark.aspx2013-11-11T16:05:00Z2013-11-11T16:05:00Z<p><img src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/sonyonlineentertainment/everquest/next/EQNextLandmarkHO-610.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p>
<p>I have never met anyone as enthusiastic about what he does as EverQuest Next director of development Dave Georgeson. As we sat down to talk about the progress of EverQuest Next Landmark, an open world sandbox not entirely unlike Minecraft, and he was eager to get through the basics and get me into the game. Georgeson was clearly excited about letting others finally take his team&#39;s creation for a test drive, and his enthusiasm for the Landmark demo was infectious.&nbsp;</p>
<p>I&rsquo;ve only dabbled in Minecraft, and haven&rsquo;t spent time with any of the countless clones it has spawned. I warned Georgeson that my first creation was likely to be pretty terrible, but he reassured me that everyone starts off that way.</p>
<p>As I fiddled with the toolset in the pre-alpha build, I quickly got the hang of the different options. Right now, the UI isn&rsquo;t streamlined, but it was still easy to find the tools for building, deleting, &ldquo;healing&rdquo; the world back to default state, selecting, and &ldquo;painting.&rdquo; The latter is one of the more powerful options that Landmark offers.</p>
<p>Instead of harvesting resources and using workbenches or other devices to create materials, it&rsquo;s simple to update your construction as time goes on. You&rsquo;ll start with rudimentary tools and simple materials, but you can still build the castle of your dreams. As you find new stone, woods, gems, and more, you can &ldquo;paint&rdquo; over part or all of your existing structures.</p>
<p>Unlike Minecraft, Sony Online has built Landmark to give players more control over the shape of their creations. Voxel sizes can be scaled up or down. Spheres can be used for creation and even terrain deletion. A powerful smoothing tool can be used to make a construction of cubes into something a bit more natural or just to weather the hard edges of a older structure. A line tool connects two points for dramatic angles that are simple to create.&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Please visit the site to view this media)</p>
<p>When walking around the developer creations, there was little to suggest that what I was looking at was made of small cubes. In this way, Landmark offers a significant deviation from the building ethos that drives Mojang&rsquo;s immensely successful sandbox.</p>
<p>In addition to all the building tools that I got to play with, Landmark will have systems in place for monsters, combat, guilds, and more. Players will be able to craft their own stories, and hop between the different world iterations to see what different players have built.</p>
<p>Developers have left their mark on the test environment I was playing around in. There was a large castle, a towering battle mech (made of wood and stone), a posh treehouse, and a cavern made of gems that beautifully reflected the light from a lantern as it was moved about.</p>
<p>As we&rsquo;ve mentioned previously, EverQuest Next Landmark will be a way for developers to recognize some of the best community creations. Some of what&rsquo;s created will be adopted into EverQuest Next.&nbsp;</p>
<p>EverQuest Next Landmark will be going into alpha by the end of February 2014, with a beta slated to begin by the end of March. Sony Online is making founders packages available today at three different price points. For the full rundown of what&rsquo;s included in each you can head over to the game&rsquo;s website, but here are the highlights.</p>
<p>The $19.99 Settler pack gets you beta access, the $59.99 Explorer pack gets you alpha access, and the $99.99 Trailblazer pack gets you alpha access, head start beta access, and four closed beta keys for friends. There are other in-game bonuses available at each level.</p>
<p>EverQuest Next Landmark is an extremely ambitious project, but I had a lot of fun playing around in the sandbox. As my hour hands-on session wound down, Georgeson had to nudge me off the keyboard. My first creation, a crumbling demonic face built into a hillside was (as promised) pretty terrible, but I&rsquo;m looking forward to having another crack at it once the game hits beta.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6398740" width="1" height="1">GIMikehttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/GIMike/default.aspxGame Director Shows Off His Construction Skills/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2013/10/17/game-director-shows-off-his-constructive-skills.aspx2013-10-17T19:09:00Z2013-10-17T19:09:00Z<p><img border="0" style="max-width:610px;" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/sonyonlineentertainment/everquest/next/fortresswalls610.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>David Georgeson, director of development for the EverQuest franchise at Sony Online Entertainment, tweeted some new photos for EverQuest Next Landmark. The images show off a fortress that he put together with the game&rsquo;s tools yesterday. </p>
<p>EverQuest Next seeks to realize a sandbox MMO world. Its companion title, EverQuest Next Landmark, gives players creative reign over Norrath, shaping everything from mountains to small shacks. Some of players&rsquo; creations could be included in EverQuest Next.&nbsp;</p>
<p>David Georgeson is especially proud of the couch he made out of totem poles. EverQuest Next Landmark is scheduled for release this winter. &nbsp;For more information about the sandbox MMO check out our <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/everquest_next/b/pc/archive/2013/08/02/two-new-interconnected-everquest-titles-announced.aspx">announcement preview</a> or see <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveGeorgeson" target="_blank">his tweets</a> for yourself.&nbsp;</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=5414487" width="1" height="1">IsaacPerryhttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/IsaacPerry/default.aspxSony Online Entertainment Shows Off Terraforming/games/everquest_next_landmark/b/pc/archive/2013/08/21/sony-online-entertainment-shows-off-terraforming.aspx2013-08-21T18:20:00Z2013-08-21T18:20:00Z<p><img style="max-width:610px;" border="0" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/sony/soe/terra610.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Sony&rsquo;s newest MMO project, <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/everquest_next/b/pc/archive/2013/08/02/two-new-interconnected-everquest-titles-announced.aspx">EverQuest Next</a>, was <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/08/07/everquest-next-revealed.aspx">unveiled</a> at Fan Faire over three years ago. Earlier this month we learned that EverQuest Next Landmark, a standalone companion, will allow EverQuest Next players to construct buildings and alter landscapes within the game in Minecraft-like fashion. Today Sony released the video below to demonstrate what this looks like. </p>
<p>Sony is advertising Next Landmark as an opportunity for EverQuest Next players to participate in the development of the game. While anybody can play around with the game, Sony will monitor submissions and choose a select few for inclusion in the actual EverQuest Next world. As seen in the video, the new Norrath will be a very malleable place.</p>
<p>We don&rsquo;t know yet know EverQuest Next&rsquo;s release date, but we do know that Next Landmark is set to launch this winter. Both titles are free-to-play, though little is known about Sony&rsquo;s plans for monetization.</p>
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<div></div><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=3991730" width="1" height="1">MattAkershttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/MattAkers/default.aspx